Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow

Hello everyone.  I hope you are well.  I am still struggling with this creeping crud of a cough I picked up at Christmas. Such a nice present, wish I'd read the gift tag before I opened it! Hubby, who has had a worse version, seems to be doing much better. I am grateful for his improvement! Because of feeling so lousy we haven't begun to take down the holiday decorations. Okay, let me be honest, we wouldn't have begun anyway...I am a strict believer of Christmas decorations down by St. Patrick's Day! Well, maybe not that extreme, but I'm not in any hurry. I keep thinking I'll come up with some excellent new way of organizing all that "stuff" that will make it much easier later this year to put it all back up, but alas, I always get fed up with it all and start shoving stuff in boxes willy nilly. You know, I have heard of people that design closets in their homes that they push their holiday trees in...whole...and just pull them back out the following year. I'm starting to think they have the right idea that all these decorations are kind of like dusting, you just have to repeat over and over. Not that I'm not happy to be able to put up holiday decorations, we all know plenty of people in this world are not able for many reasons, so I guess I'll learn to enjoy the process. I refuse to enjoy dusting though, just for the record.

While downing my zillionth cup of hot tea and cough drop this week I finished the book Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow, by Jessica Townsend. This is the second of what I hope is going to be a long running series. The first book, Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow, I loved. While not a big fantasy reader, I am totally into this story line. I always seem to like books that it doesn't take time to "get into", probably why I like thrillers so much because of their pacing. It seems like fantasy would take longer because you have to describe the location and characters so much. Don't get me wrong, I love the description in something like Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath....heck I'm still thinking about that turtle on the road. (Read it if you haven't it is a classic, though somewhat depressing, still a classic). Then there is the description in a book like Maguire's Wicked about the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz story. I adore Elphaba and all her glorious green-ness, but the description of the world, Geez! I was reading that book out loud to hubby one time in the car on a long trip and the words the author made up gave me a tongue cramp! (settle down all you perverts) Anyway, I'm not a huge fan of wasting valuable story time in so much description, I want to get to the plot. Wundersmith, like Nevermoor, spends only necessary amounts of time on description and has a strong plot. It has been likened to Harry Potter. I honestly thought it was just because of the fantasy, its popularity, and being written for an audience a bit younger than myself (no comments necessary). However, I've started noticing more and more similarities, is the villain a little Voldemortish? Do any of the building descriptions remind you of the Weasley's house. I don't know, I might be reading things that aren't there. Once thing is for sure, this is a classic good against evil. Wundersmith is every bit as good as Nevermoor, frankly, I cannot wait for more. Its almost 550 pages fly by way too quickly!

By the way, in my review of Nevermoor I told you about my fabulous artist niece. I saw her a Christmas and she took Nevermoor back to art school with her. So happy this will be something else we can share. I might even be willing to stand in line at midnight, ala Harry Potter, to get her another Morrigan Crow installment.

The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg

Hello everyone.

I hope you are all well and had a fun New Year's celebration. We, of course, were sick. I hope you don't catch this "thing" that is going around with a cough that just will not leave. Poor hubby is starting to sound like a seal when he coughs. I want to tease him, maybe toss a beach ball for him to spin on his nose, but I feel so horrible for him. It actually breaks my heart to hear him in distress. No, those of you that are medically inclined, he does not have whooping cough or pneumonia, but thanks for your concern. Doesn't it seem like every winter there is some stubborn virus going around? Luckily we usually avoid it but guess it was our turn. Oh well, we've seen lots of Netflix and Hulu (both I am angry about the story lines but that is for another day).

Anyway, while plopped firmly in a chair with a blanket on my lap, hubby safely recovering on the sofa, fire in the fireplace and Christmas tree lights on, I finished another great book. I just completed The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg. I received an advanced copy but the actual release is this coming Tuesday on January 8, 2019. If you like wonderful stories that span a lifetime, this is the kind of book you would like. It tells the story of a ninety-six year old woman, Doris, who is writing her life story for her niece. Doris is using her address book as a prompt for her memories. The story is lovely, moving from Sweden to Paris to New York...you get the picture. This is nicely paced, thoroughly telling the story but not lingering on any one part for too long.

Now I am about to be nitpicky and most likely completely wrong, so take this for what it is worth....which is probably a negative amount. One of the people listed in Doris' address book is someone that is in her life a short time. She would never have an address or phone number or need to contact them. So why are they in the address book at all? It just left me wondering why. The author is from Sweden, I am in the USA. I have no idea how address books work in Sweden so having this character listed may well be completely normal. In any case, this does not distract from the story and, again, the character is necessary. Also, like when I have objections to certain things Stephen King does, please remember Sofia Lundberg, has a major hit novel that is going global and I have a cold and dirty kitchen floor. Judge for yourself!

Seriously, The Red Address Book is wonderful. If you like good stories, this delivers.

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Hello everyone.

I hope you had a nice Christmas, or Tuesday, however it was you spent it last week. My Christmas was disastrous, despite my early start and incessant list making. We didn't get all our decorations or trees up. Our company arrived a day later than originally planned which gave us more prep time, yet still we were cleaning after they arrived and remained without the last tree and several critical decorations. In addition, I forgot to bring out several of the "snacks" we had purchased. We play games, lots of them, so we serve a nice breakfast but no lunch just snacks, then dinner, of course. Anyway, I forgot to put out lots of the snacks we had purchased...like a platter of assorted Italian meats my brother-in-law loves, or the nuts he loves, or the cheeseball that is tradition.

We were so lucky that from all my siblings, as a group present, hubby and I received a Play Station 4. Now before you think we are juvenile let me tell you my mother was the first in line to get an Atari, oh so many years ago, which she loved and played often. In addition, my artist niece has now declared her major as "game design". Since I bothered to learn all the words to Blue Clues in an effort to be a favorite aunt, you can bet your fanny I'm going to play a game she thinks is interesting. (BTW, I spent a good hour begging her to make a game of the book Nevermoor.) So we were being taught how to use the new game machine when my family packed up, leaving quickly after we finished. I forgot to give them treats that we usually do, and we will never eat, like dozens and dozens of spectacularly decorated sugar cookies (can you guess who made them...hint...I'm pointing at me) and a container of homemade fudge so big you could soak in it. Oh well, I guess they had a good time and that is all that matters, right? Successful family time. Unfortunately, my husband came away sick and now I'm getting the creeping crud. We both feel absolutely awful!

One good thing, after Christmas I was so tired, besides sleeping the only thing I've done is read. Hooray! I just read An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. If they sound familiar it is because they are the writing team that brought readers the thriller The Wife Between Us. I greatly enjoyed The Wife Between Us, but An Anonymous Girl is even better! This new book is about trust and lies. When is it okay to lie and when has it gone too far?  How do you tell if someone is lying? What are your moral values? It starts when a young makeup artist sneaks into a psychological study about morals because it pays well and she needs the money. Right there you are wondering about values, as she is lying to get into the study....but what if she needs the money for a noble reason? Is it bad then? Anyway, when the book starts you might think it is going to be slow or dry as a girl answers questions on a computer screen. You'd be wrong. It is strangely compelling, the story calls to you to push on just one more chapter. The story quickly morphs into something completely different, something personal and unpredictable. Someone is a master manipulator but the reader remains unsure who. As this plot becomes more and more of a true thriller, we realize that not only is their a whole lot of mental twisting going on but actual physical danger. Who is the target and who is the perpetrator? It is well told, quickly paced and certainly holds your interest. In addition, it has an oh so satisfying end, which you know I adore.

If you have a bookstore gift card, An Anonymous Girl is released January 8, 2019 and would really start your reading year out on the fast track!

Accidentally Engaged by Mary Carter

Hello everyone.

 Are you as frantic as I am with Christmas right around the corner? Why is it when you are a kid in school and looking at that clock on the wall it moves so slowly. Then as an adult, when you beg the clock to stop speeding it absolutely refuses. It is unfair. Maybe there is some weird time shift with age....hummm a wacked (meaning terrible) book idea there. Anyway, I am behind in cleaning for company and definitely behind in goodie baking. Oh the humanity.  I'll hang my head in shame...especially if there is a book in my lap.

 Naturally, I am way behind in the list of books I wanted to finish by the end of the year too. I have wanted to read the author Peter May for so long and received three of his books last year for Christmas, have I cracked one beyond the first paragraph...no. I read the first in the Cainsville series by Kelley Armstrong and loved it. I have the other four books in the series and haven't read any of them. I have the latest in the Jane Hawk series by Dean Koontz and haven't had time to read it. Arrrgghhhh! All these wonderful books staring at me and I have to clean and bake! The injustice of it all!

So, deep breath. In case you are as stressed as I am, let me suggest a quick hit book. Something a bit on the fluffy side, something with a sense of humor. I recently read Accidentally Engaged by Mary Carter. This book opens with the main character being a serial wife, having been married 3 times. Clair is currently working as a tarot card reader. When a bridal party arrives, different members with different agendas, all hell breaks loose. In the pandemonium, the engagement ring gets left behind. Clair decides she needs to return it. Doing so, well, let's just say the book is off and running.

This story is a fast, pleasant read. It is light-hearted and quirky. It is romantic and sassy. Most of all, it is funny, really funny. Something that is oh so needed at this time of year. This absorbing book will melt away your stress and help you find your smile.

Accidentally Engaged would make a great holiday gift for a girlfriend or sister with a sense of humor. One thing is for sure, you'll never baste a turkey again without a chuckle. What in on the joke? Read the book, you'll laugh all the way to your roasting pan!

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Hello everyone. I need you to join me for a bit of "mind traveling" today. Imagine you are in the northeastern US.  Parts of New England had a wind chill of -15 yesterday. The whole area has had snow and ice too, winter has arrived.  Okay, now get ready, we are going to slowly start going south for a vacation. Come on, pass the singing snowman that sounds like Burl Ives.  Ooops, try not to get run over by that sledding electric razor. Definitely ignore Buddy the Elf when he offers you some gum! Tune them out and think more like the Price is Right and "come on down". Pass NJ, wave to the Cape May Victorians. Careful of the speed traps in Maryland...hey, why are you speeding anyway? Be careful. Ah, hitting the eastern shore of Virginia now? Make sure you stop at Stuckey's and get some chocolate covered coconut patties. Now, get out your wallets and be prepared to be shocked at the $12 toll to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. At least it is picturesque and interesting if you are going to the bottom of the bay at the exact time a ship is going over. Keep going.

In North Carolina yet? Good, stick as closely as you can to the coast. Notice all those bridges? Why if you are driving close to the coast are there all those bridges? One word, marshes! Yep, all those places where the ocean tries to go inland, or rivers try to get to the ocean are marsh lands. Now you might ask what is the difference between a marsh and a swamp? Ahhh, that is using the old canoodle!  A swamp has more woody things like stumps and trees, but a marsh is more grasslands. Marshes are nutrient rich wetlands that support all kinds of animal and plant life. Now I know you think I'm more off my rocker than usual and about to break into some kind of song probably from School House Rock but no, I've just read a great book about a marsh in North Carolina.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is an amazing book, set in the marshes of coastal North Carolina. It is beautifully written, almost lyrical in parts, while still being an interesting, easy to read story. That story is epic in its journey following a little girl, abandoned in the marsh as she learns how to not only survive but live. The reader is witness to the hardships and bravery of little Kya Clark as she grows up and learns about the world and herself. There is a mystery in this book that is interesting but the strength of it is how enchanting the story is as a whole. This is not that much of a who-dun-it and definitely not a thriller. Amazing, and sweeping in scale, the pacing is excellent and writing superb. The way the author handles things like Kya's childhood innocence reminds me of Tom Sawyer, and I can think of no higher compliment than that.

As Christmas approaches, I keep saying books would make an excellent gift. Different books for everyone's taste. Where the Crawdads Sing would be an excellent gift for those that like a little emotion in their story, something quiet and thoughtful. Almost a classic. For the right person, this would even be a great hostess gift when you've forgotten that pricey bottle of wine. Where the Crawdads Sing is smoother, fuller bodied and will linger longer, too.

Green Zone Jack by I. James Bertolina

Hello everyone. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.

Now that you've been shopping or refusing to shop (as we do) and are probably in turkey sandwich heaven, loosen your stretchy pants and read on.  Let's face it, we all have so much to be thankful for. No matter how bad things are, they can always get worse. I hope things are always sunshine and daisies for you, me too, I love it when things hum along.

Something I am always grateful for is our military. Whether you agree with what conflict the US is currently in or not, I cannot imagine anyone not being in awe of people that are willing to put their family life on hold and are literally facing the possibility of laying down their life so that we can enjoy a nice Thanksgiving. I am not that brave. To be honest, I cannot even fathom that kind of bravery. I see it all the time though. My grandfather was on a ship in WWII and my uncle was literally on the beach at Normandy on D-Day. In addition, I live in a huge military area. I see the families left behind, the wives with kids, dealing with car repairs, hurricanes or a case of the flu, all alone. Even if there is no war, accidents happen. Bravery, all around. I don't know how they do it, military or their families.

It is with the military in mind that I have to tell you about a book, Green Zone Jack. Now, I read a lot of psychological thrillers, but every once in a while, I need a palette cleanser. I can only take so many 'did their husband, wife or lover do its' before I need a brief break. This time, I turned to I. James Bertolina for some solid action adventure. Good thing too, because he totally delivered! This story reeks of the dangerous, lawless Old West, but on steroids, in the modern day Middle East. Diplomatic Security Service agent Payton Ladd is charged with finding the missing nephew of a U.S. Senator, and has little time to do so. The writing is solid and stays on the plot, which I completely adore and makes the story fast-moving. As the novel unfolds, the reader is presented with a large cast of likely suspects.  With Sam Spade-like fortitude and help from heroic U.S. service members, Ladd weaves his way through a minefield of criminal and political intrigue as bullets and grenades fly. If you want romance and loads of emotion, don't look here, if you want a great thriller filled with adventure and quick pacing, this book is for you. A great ride and read!

Looking for a gift for a husband or boyfriend, Green Zone Jack would be an excellent choice. Looking for a gift for a wife or girlfriend who is need of a break from puppies and PTA meetings, Green Zone Jack will meet the challenge. This book is definitely a well-written, action-packed thriller. You'd be smart to pick it up!

Nevermoor The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Hello everyone.  You may not believe me, but I know why you come here. You want to read about a book you are interested in and see me yap on about how cleaning the toilet is such a crappy job (ahem, yes, I saw it and yes, it is a bad job I dislike, you probably do too). However, like last time I have to tell you a story that relates to today's book.

I have a niece. She is in her early twenties. My niece was the first "kid" in our family so in an effort to be her favorite aunt I did some things I now don't know whether to be ashamed of or proud of.  Given how many thrillers I read perhaps I should pause here for effect, letting your mind wander. No, these things do not involve shovels, drives to the barren woods, or missing people. Possibly worse. I watched Ren and Stimpy. Think that is bad? Hold on to your chair...I learned all the songs from Blues Clues. Oh, yes, shutter you should! I know the mailbox song, complete with flag arm movement. You want to know about Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper, I'm your girl! I know, it is shocking.

When my niece was a teen, I read the Twilight series with her, despite her completely bailing after the first book. I have whole series-itis and had to read all of them. Then there is Harry Potter, we read the whole series together. It was bliss. Sometimes she'd get the book on her own, or it would "magically" appear from Amazon. One time, hubby and I braved the dreaded line at midnight at Walmart. I remember her calling me, saying she had been reading late at night, hidden in the bathroom so as not to bother her family, in tears. She was reading about Dumbledore dying. It was a bond, shared over books that I am so grateful for. No matter how old she gets or where she goes, those shared moments will always be with me and I hope with her.

Now my niece is in a famous design school, either destined for Disney or game design. She can draw, paint, sculpt anything from characters to realistic, from landscape to the intricacies of the human body. Sadly, I don't think she realizes how amazing she is, and she definitely is amazing. My niece is stunningly beautiful both inside and out, not only super creative but absolutely brilliant at math and science. She is funny and sweet, kind and thoughtful. She is the bravest person I know, in so many ways. Despite her young age, she is possibly the most inspiring woman I've ever met and I am in CONSTANT awe.

When I talked to my niece a while ago, we were talking about book genres and she was saying how much she liked fantasy. Given her chosen profession, this is not a surprise. Fantasy is not my favorite. To me it just takes longer to get into a book if I have to go through all that "world building" too.  However, as you've seen in the past sometimes the "buzz" on a book gets the better of me and I have to read it. Such is the case with the kids fantasy book, Nevermoor The Trials of Morrigan Crow, described as being the new Harry Potter.

I loved this book. Thankfully, you are immersed in the story and world easily and quickly. The reader instantly likes and has empathy for the little Morrigan Crow and a chuckle or two for her quick wit and sarcasm. The story progressed quickly, describing just enough of the setting for your brain to take over without over doing it and slowing the plot. Obstacles and tasks are handled efficiently with neither too little nor too much time spent on each one. The pacing is perfection. Needless to say, despite it's 461 pages, I didn't want it to end. And it is a fantasy...I didn't want to end....461 pages...with lots to do at the holidays...461 pages...didn't want to end.  You get the point.

So, Thanksgiving is next week with Christmas close behind. I have cooking galore, cleaning and decorating to do. Something is going to have to go undone. The Nevermoor sequel, Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow was released this week. After finishing Nevermoor I had to immediately order it with it's 545 pages. Thankfully, my niece is also great in the kitchen, think I'll leave the cookie baking undone and get her help, she'll understand...maybe I can trade her a book for her help. I know just the one!